I was away for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I had to cancel my usual house cleaning services. A family of 3 Hondurian ladies who have cleaned my house biweekly for over a year. Through the year, I might have cancelled twice before due to "life happens"...but I stick to a biweekly schedule. I called yesterday to a pissed off cleaning lady about rescheduling..and she goes on and on about my cancellation. I suppose I'm not allowed to take a vacation because it messes up their schedule.

Anyway, I said I'll find someone else, and am going to let her go.

Now I have the daunting task of cleaning house:eek:, I've had a cleaning lady for the past 10 years. I do laundry and clean up, but the heavy lifting was done by the cleaning ladies.

So when/how do you houseclean? On Saturday, a little each day, tips? I hate to spend my weekends in the house cleaning..when I can be out shopping:cool:

ralph wiggum

12-01-2010, 12:11 PM

Let it get dirty, then move....

Hawkgirl

12-01-2010, 12:15 PM

Let it get dirty, then move....
...but I LIKE where I live...

linda22003

12-01-2010, 12:27 PM

We use a maid service company rather than an individual. They don't take it personally when you cancel one week or reschedule; they accommodate you. We have it done every Friday, so it's nice for the weekend.

Gingersnap

12-01-2010, 12:35 PM

This assumes you don't have little kids or defiant teens:

85% of keeping a clean house is not letting it get tragic in the first place. Pick up, throw out, wash, wipe, or put away as you go along having a normal life. Train others to do the same thing or at least not add to any work. It takes a few seconds to wash a glass or wipe off a counter.

I want all the dishes done and put away after dinner. If any dishes, cutlery, or whatever happens during the day, it gets cleaned right then. I have a 24 hour rule for homeless crap: it can live on the bar or a table or whatever for 24 hours only. After that, I find it a "home". Nobody wants me to do this so stuff gets put away pretty rapidly.

Use a squeegee inside your shower when you are done and keep a little towel under your bathroom sink to wipe it off before you leave in the morning. Sort mail instantly and by "sort", I mean pitch anything you aren't expecting. If you see a string or something on the floor, just pick it up. Make permanent places for your keys, bags, coats, etc. and use them.

If you become neat in your habits then actual regular cleaning shouldn't take more than an hour and half a week. Do it some night after work. Add one or two seasonal or infrequent chores a few times a month (things like cleaning ceiling fans, washing windows, etc.). Buy yourself excellent cleaning tools and forget about whatever your grandmother claimed about cleaning things with vinegar or oatmeal. ;)

Hawkgirl

12-01-2010, 01:20 PM

Thanks for the tips Ginger...I do those things now actually, because I don't want the cleaning ladies to clean around clutter. But I need to get better at wiping down surfaces on a daily basis.

Linda, I find the cleaning services to be super expensive, and the one time I used them, I was not impressed. I'm going to try to do it myself and if it doesn't take up too much free time, I actually wouldn't mind saving the money for something else.

lacarnut

12-01-2010, 01:31 PM

I clean my own house. Cleaning up a few minutes each day is the secret rather than letting it pile up on you. My house is small. I have a problem with anyone coming in my house because of security reasons. My elderly parents had things stolen by either the cleaning lady, the sitter or the nurses. It was like Grand Central station every day when they were alive.

I just got back from a beach condo I rented from the owner a couple of weeks ago. Rather than pay $125 to clean it up, I cleaned it; took me less than 2 hours.

Rockntractor

12-01-2010, 02:04 PM

A clean house is like sausage, I like it but I don't care to see what goes into it!:eek:

Zafod

12-01-2010, 02:16 PM

A clean house is like sausage, I like it but I don't care to see what goes into it!:eek:

lmao

noonwitch

12-01-2010, 02:20 PM

I do all the routine cleaning on Saturday mornings (vacuuming, dusting, laundry,and cleaning the bathroom fixtures). I mop the kitchen one week, and the bathroom on the other week, unless there is a reason to do it more often. I mop the basement thoroughly on a seasonal basis, and as needed the rest of the time. I give Katie (my dog) a bath usually on either Saturday or Sunday, every week in the summer, every 2 or 3 weeks in the winter. I change my cat's litter usually on Wednesday nights because garbage day is Thursday.

I use Pine Sol for mopping and Fantastick for the counters and fixtures. To me, the smell of Pine Sol means clean.

My big cleaning tasks usually get done a little at a time. I'm starting on the tiles/grout this weekend, so that it will be done by Christmas.

megimoo

12-01-2010, 02:24 PM

This assumes you don't have little kids or defiant teens:

85% of keeping a clean house is not letting it get tragic in the first place. Pick up, throw out, wash, wipe, or put away as you go along having a normal life. Train others to do the same thing or at least not add to any work. It takes a few seconds to wash a glass or wipe off a counter.

I want all the dishes done and put away after dinner. If any dishes, cutlery, or whatever happens during the day, it gets cleaned right then. I have a 24 hour rule for homeless crap: it can live on the bar or a table or whatever for 24 hours only. After that, I find it a "home". Nobody wants me to do this so stuff gets put away pretty rapidly.

Use a squeegee inside your shower when you are done and keep a little towel under your bathroom sink to wipe it off before you leave in the morning. Sort mail instantly and by "sort", I mean pitch anything you aren't expecting. If you see a string or something on the floor, just pick it up. Make permanent places for your keys, bags, coats, etc. and use them.

If you become neat in your habits then actual regular cleaning shouldn't take more than an hour and half a week. Do it some night after work. Add one or two seasonal or infrequent chores a few times a month (things like cleaning ceiling fans, washing windows, etc.). Buy yourself excellent cleaning tools and forget about whatever your grandmother claimed about cleaning things with vinegar or oatmeal. ;)

You sound like someones mother !

linda22003

12-01-2010, 02:40 PM

Linda, I find the cleaning services to be super expensive, and the one time I used them, I was not impressed. I'm going to try to do it myself and if it doesn't take up too much free time, I actually wouldn't mind saving the money for something else.

That's fine; we all have to decide what our spending priorities are. If the maid service cost TWICE as much I would still have it every week. I don't like housework, and would rather spend my time doing other things.

NJCardFan

12-01-2010, 02:55 PM

I clean my own house. Cleaning up a few minutes each day is the secret rather than letting it pile up on you. My house is small. I have a problem with anyone coming in my house because of security reasons. My elderly parents had things stolen by either the cleaning lady, the sitter or the nurses. It was like Grand Central station every day when they were alive.

I just got back from a beach condo I rented from the owner a couple of weeks ago. Rather than pay $125 to clean it up, I cleaned it; took me less than 2 hours.

We do too. Funny how the ladies here hire others to clean their house while the 2 men say they clean. My wife and I do it every so often and by that I mean it may be every week or every other week and we try to pick up after ourselves.

Gingersnap

12-01-2010, 03:35 PM

You sound like someones mother !

No, I sound like someone who likes a clean, calm, well-ordered environment that is visually pleasing.

I am far too lazy to do the hit-or-miss I'll Get To Later style of housekeeping. Later eventually comes and then these people waste an entire weekend doing some kind of horrific marathon cleaning session. I just don't have the stamina to live like that. :p

linda22003

12-01-2010, 03:37 PM

We do too. Funny how the ladies here hire others to clean their house while the 2 men say they clean.

This is something my husband and I decided to do years ago. Until then, the housework was done by the person who got fed up first, and it was always my husband. I tolerated a higher mess level than he did. We outsourced to keep the peace.

jendf

12-01-2010, 05:30 PM

Great tips, Gingersnap!

For me, if my kitchen is in disarray, then the rest of the house likely is too. I don't know how or why that is but it's true for me. So I always keep the kitchen in tip-top shape. No dishes left in the sink overnight (unless something needs to soak). Counters wiped nightly. No dumping the purse, mail, or anything else on the counter or kitchen table.

I have a home for the purse, bag, coats, etc. and they get placed there as soon as I get home from work.

Daily routines of putting things away immediately and giving countertops a quick swipe really do help keep the weekend cleaning to a minimum. Like noonwitch, I get all the heavy housecleaning tasks done at the start of the weekend and then I don't have to worry about it.

Hawkgirl

12-01-2010, 06:50 PM

That's fine; we all have to decide what our spending priorities are. If the maid service cost TWICE as much I would still have it every week. I don't like housework, and would rather spend my time doing other things.

I hear ya, I'll be lucky if I last a month. I love having a clean house, I just don't like to exert the energy to do it...I've already started collecting references:o

Hawkgirl

12-01-2010, 06:52 PM

We use a maid service company rather than an individual. They don't take it personally when you cancel one week or reschedule; they accommodate you. We have it done every Friday, so it's nice for the weekend.

BTW, do they have keys to your house, or are you home when they clean? I haven't given up the keys...I always stay home while they're there.

linda22003

12-01-2010, 06:55 PM

Someone's generally at home when they're here. Not always, but usually. We've never had a problem.

Rockntractor

12-01-2010, 07:21 PM

Someone's generally at home when they're here. Not always, but usually. We've never had a problem.

We just have the butler let them in.

malloc

12-01-2010, 07:26 PM

This assumes you don't have little kids or defiant teens:

With three kids, 99% of keeping the house clean is brow beating the kids into cleaning up after themselves. I think it's 1 part laziness and 1 part lack of situational awareness that does it. You would think after years and years, they'd grasp little concepts like, "put stuff up after you make a snack." However, when the T.V. is on, and friends are on the phone, and there is a game going on in the street, the kids "forget" to do this. It drives me insane.

lacarnut

12-01-2010, 08:26 PM

BTW, do they have keys to your house, or are you home when they clean? I haven't given up the keys...I always stay home while they're there.

That would be a no no for me. My brother is the only one that has a key to my house.

RobJohnson

12-01-2010, 08:30 PM

I was away for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I had to cancel my usual house cleaning services. A family of 3 Hondurian ladies who have cleaned my house biweekly for over a year. Through the year, I might have cancelled twice before due to "life happens"...but I stick to a biweekly schedule. I called yesterday to a pissed off cleaning lady about rescheduling..and she goes on and on about my cancellation. I suppose I'm not allowed to take a vacation because it messes up their schedule.

Anyway, I said I'll find someone else, and am going to let her go.

Now I have the daunting task of cleaning house:eek:, I've had a cleaning lady for the past 10 years. I do laundry and clean up, but the heavy lifting was done by the cleaning ladies.

So when/how do you houseclean? On Saturday, a little each day, tips? I hate to spend my weekends in the house cleaning..when I can be out shopping:cool:

I could move in and help, :)

Hawkgirl

12-01-2010, 09:10 PM

I could move in and help, :)

why, thank you ;)

linda22003

12-02-2010, 10:13 AM

With three kids, 99% of keeping the house clean is brow beating the kids into cleaning up after themselves. I think it's 1 part laziness and 1 part lack of situational awareness that does it. You would think after years and years, they'd grasp little concepts like, "put stuff up after you make a snack." However, when the T.V. is on, and friends are on the phone, and there is a game going on in the street, the kids "forget" to do this. It drives me insane.

We didn't have kids, which saves us this psychological torture; frankly, it solves about 85% of the housework issue as well.

Gingersnap

12-02-2010, 10:50 AM

We didn't have kids, which saves us this psychological torture; frankly, it solves about 85% of the housework issue as well.

No kidding. I never assume that my standards for the household environment apply to families with little kids or lazy teens. I figure the 3 dogs and 1 cat add up to the extra work involved with a well mannered 10 year old who has no outside interests. ;)

RobJohnson

12-02-2010, 01:04 PM

We just have the butler let them in.

lol....

http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.98007338.jpg

Hawkgirl

12-02-2010, 07:43 PM

No kidding. I never assume that my standards for the household environment apply to families with little kids or lazy teens. I figure the 3 dogs and 1 cat add up to the extra work involved with a well mannered 10 year old who has no outside interests. ;)